Zero no Tsukaima: Eyes of Death
by Cloak of Shades
Summary: This was just an idea I had before... "What if Louise summoned up Shiki Tohno instead of Saito?" This is going to be a story that I will update when I feel the inspiration hit me rather than some of my other passions that I have continued to update so let me know what you think and if this gets enough reviews, I'll continue it. Thanks for reading and please R&R.
1. An Unexpected Summoning

_Just to be frank and not to be misleading, this is just an idea I had that made me inspired to write. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I will writing it. (Still unsure if I will actually make this a true work like my other three. Without further ado, I give you: "Zero's Familiar: Eyes of Death")_

"Zero" – Regular Speech

'Zero' – Thoughts

"_Zero"_ – Unknown Speech

"**Zero**" – Spell/Technique

In the nation of Tristain, northwest in the continent of Halkeginia, the Tristain Academy's finest second year students start off their year of schooling. There is one such aristocrat among them that is known as Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. A rather handful to spell out, let alone say, but such a name should be well known as a famous and powerful magician… In this case however, it is exactly the opposite. Everyone inside of the Tristain Academy knows of Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, this is to be sure; however it is not in the way that you would think. Instead of her arduously long name that she should be addressed as, she is actually known throughout the school as "Louse the Zero". She is the epitome of failure. Every spell she casts, it ends in failure. Every potion she makes, it explodes upon creation. Every alteration she tries to morph it disassembles completely. She has zero skill, zero control and above all else, zero patience.

"Mmm…" The pink-haired 'heroine' of our tale muttered with a stretch of her arms as she tried to wake herself up. "What time is it…?" She asked to someone as if she was expecting a reply.

Picking up her pocket watch, she looked at the time and her eyes widened at how late it had gotten. She wasn't late, sure, but she was sure running out of time.

"Oh no, I'm going to be late!" She screamed to herself as if it would help the situation.

Jumping out of bed and using a bit of bare basic telekinetic magic; which by frankly was astonishing that it didn't go haywire as it was still hard for her to do. She quickly got dressed, donned her robes, grabbed her wand and dashed out the door and down the spiraling stairway to her first class.

Alchemy was a rather simple form of magic. It was a nature-like magic base that went from the bare basics of transmutations to formulating concoctions of great properties through the use of herbs and tonics. It was the first class on Louise's schedule. Little did she know what was to happen that day… would change her life forever.

"Hello there everyone, my name is Chevreuse. I am an earth-type magician who will be teaching you alchemy this year." The woman introduced herself as he picked up three stones that were lying on the chalkboard bar behind her.

"Now before we begin, who can tell me the five different pillars of magic?" The teacher asked as she noticed a few hands raise.

"Ah yes, you in the back… miss uh…" The teacher selected the red-haired female in the back who, by all the male standards, was probably the most attractive one in the entire class.

"My name is Kirche… Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt Zerbst." The red-haired voluptuous woman stated with her chest puffed out as if she were proud of her image… actually it wasn't that far off from the mark. "And the answer to your question is simple. The five different types of magic are as follows: Earth, Fire, Wind, Water and the unknown yet widely accepted Void magic."

"Correct. Well done miss Zerbst." The teacher praised her student as she sat down. "Every magician has an elemental type. Some have two, and some rarely-talented individuals even have three. I personally have yet to meet a person who can use four elements but there are the very few who are able, to some degree, use those four types of magic in combination with one another. This is where our lesson will continue." The teacher explained as she placed the stones on the table before her.

"Alchemy is a very basic form of magic. It can be used in everyday practice as long as you have a medium. Now, you see that these are very simple, very basic stones. Correct?" The teacher asked, and in a slight wave, all of the students started to nod. "Now, watch as I transmute these ordinary stones to something extraordinary." The woman said before pointing her wand at the stones.

"**Transmutare**" The woman said before the stones shook themselves and morphed to a shining gold.

"W-What? Is that real gold?!" Kirche rose from her seat as she saw the three shining stones.

"Nothing of the sort miss Kirche… this is just a simple transmutation to change the outer appearance of these stones… hardly nothing as complex as changing the finite DNA that makes up the rock." The teacher explained as she reverted them back to their original form with another flick of her wand.

"Now then, would anyone want to try out what I just did?" The purple-robed teacher asked as she looked around the room. Her eyes pinpointed suddenly upon a student who didn't look to be paying attention and decided to pick her to teach her a lesson. She had pink hair which fell just short of her chest. She was short in demeanor and looked more of a child than a teenager like most of the other students. Regardless, she chose this student to make her an example of the class.

"Ah yes, you there… Miss…" The teacher looked down at her notes to see the student roster. "Miss Louise de La Vallière." The teacher address the young lady with her shorter, easier to pronounce, name.

"Yes ma'am?" The girl replied back, noting that she was paying attention the entire time.

"Would you please come up here and demonstrate?" The teacher asked, not knowing what cogs of disaster she had set in motion.

"U-Uh Um! Teacher!" Kirche immediately jolted up at the suggestion of Louise using magic. "I-I wouldn't suggest that if I were you." She said with a worried tone.

"Whatever do you mean by that?" The teacher said, confused as per what she meant by that horrid statement of a fellow classmate. "What's wrong with me selecting a student to use magic?"

"Oh no, it's nothing wrong on your part… I doubt you've heard the stories as of late." Kerche said with a sweat-drop protruding down the back of her neck as she tried to remedy the situation.

"No, she's right teach. You wouldn't know immediately since you haven't had a class with her… but that's 'Louise the Zero'. She's the most untalented person who can't use magic." A student explained as he stood up. "In fact… I don't think she can cast anything without blowing it to smithereens." He continued as the rest of the class sank into a depression, remembering the past experiences that they had with her.

Now, usually it wouldn't be that bad to mess up a spell once or twice. Sure, all the students screwed up on a spell or casted it too strong or completely changed the outcome of what a spell should have been. Louise on the other hand had completely blown things out of proportion by… well, by blowing up the place. It was a very chaotic, unrefined magic that she couldn't control and would go wild every time she tried to cast it. Whether it was a simple telekinesis spell to a simple fire spell, a water spell or a manipulation of color to dust, it didn't matter what she did. Everything winded up the same: A large explosion that erased everything that it was directed to be cast upon.

"No!" The pink-haired magician stood up in defiance as she was being ridiculed. Not that she had any real rebuttal to defend herself with. "I… I can do it. I'll cast the transmutation spell." She said as she made her way down to the podium.

"O-Oh no…" Kirche and a few of the students said in unison as they all started to cower and take cover behind whatever they could in order to defend themselves from the inevitable doom.

"Well then, miss Vallière." The teacher motioned her to the pedestal as she took her spot to do the transmutation spell. "Please show us your ability to do the transmutation spell." She said as she took a few steps back to give her some room.

"Will do teacher." The fiery-eyed aristocrat said.

'I… I'm going to do it. I'm not going to be a zero anymore. I refuse to be called a zero again!' she screamed inside her head as she flicked her wand down in a dramatic fashion and declared the simple incantation to cast the spell.

"**Transmutare!**" She said in a confident voice as she casted the spell.

As the spell sparks flew from her wand and impacted against the three rocks like the teacher's did, everything seemed to be going as planned. It was then that the rocks started to shake violently. Reacting just like they anticipated, all the students reclined back into their respective covers and awaited their inevitable doom as the rocks exploded into a fiery blast of destruction.

"I KNEW IT!" Kirche yelled into the fray as she was consumed by the explosion.

As the dust settled and everyone recovered from the expected blast, the teacher looked upon the young mage with utter shock. She never knew of a transmutation spell, the simplest trick of the earth magic, could be manipulated and changed into an explosive spell of no origin.

"W-Well… there's always next time…" The teacher said before falling over in a daze at what had happened.

As soon as the teacher keeled over and fell, the bell for the period shift rang and every student dusted themselves off before heading to their next class. Louise, with her head held low and down to the ground, could do nothing but wait until everyone was out so she could recompose herself before going out to her next class.

The next period was from her history teacher, Colbert. Colbert was known for his simple magics as well as his vast knowledge of historical artifacts and everything odd that was known throughout their history as mages. If you wanted to know something about an artifact or just something of the past, he was the one to go to. He was also going to be the instructor to initiate the students into true mages as a mage always had a familiar at their side. For this ritual, they would need to be out in the garden so as to give an appropriate setting for any manner of beast that would show up.

"Now then, as many of you know from last year, my name is Colbert. I am your history teacher and will be your moderator in today's Familiar Summoning. Make no mistake, this summoning ritual goes back as far as mages like you and I have ever been known to exist. It is a holy ceremony which binds a contract between two souls. Your Familiar is like your other half. It is the part which you lack; it is the part of you that shall be with you for as long as you both live. May you cherish this bond and focus your resolve to the pacts you will be entering today." He explained in a dramatic tone as he lifted his staff and magically engraved a large summoning seal into the ground for the first student to initiate their Familiar summon.

"First, Kirche Zerbst." The instructor announced before the red-haired woman stepped up and commenced her summoning.

As the words of her summoning finished and her wand flicked at her command, the seal shined a bright light before a fiery inferno erupted from the center. It was a vast pillar of flame that echoed into the air before dispersing to reveal her familiar. As to be expected, it was a fire element familiar: A Salamander.

"Oh? Would you look at that? A Salamander… very befitting for a mage of your caliber, miss Zerbst." The instructor said before moving on to the next student.

This was just one of the many summons that impressed the entire class. As the students went one by one, commanding their familiar to answer their will and present themselves to them; a summon, each befitting each caliber of mage that summoned them, appeared before everyone's eyes. Some were big, some were small. Some had wings, other had none. Some lived in water while others dug in the ground, each befitting a certain attribute of the four main elements.

As all the students started to finish their summons, all of them were pleased with which they were given. Granted, some were a little shaken at what they had been granted but others were thrilled to death with what had appeared. One of them even happened to be a blue drake.

"Wow… way to go Tabitha, you summoned up a drake… as expected of someone from Gallia…" She praised the small mage as she mounted the large dragon-like creature. 'Now all that's left is Louise…' the fire mage dreaded to herself as she noticed that her little nuisance hadn't summoned yet.

"So? Is everyone finished?" The bald instructor asked as he looked amongst the crowd.

"No sir. Miss Vallière has yet to do her summoning." Kirche announced as all the students shook with fear as they heard the name.

"Oh no… you've got to be kidding me." One of the students murmured to their friend as they noticed the girl. "We're gonna get blown to smithereens man…" He added as he took a few steps back.

"Ah. Miss Vallière." Mr. Colbert said before redoing the summoning circle, awaiting the young girl to commence her summoning. "I wish you luck Miss Vallière." He noted at the end before taking a few steps back himself.

"I, Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, command thee. Pillars of the Five Elemental Magics, heed my call and grant me the most powerful and majestic of all Familiars in all the land. Let it forever be known that I call forth the mightiest being to have ever walked this earth! Now, heed my call and show yourself to me!" The young pink-haired mage said to the summoning circle as a large surge of energy was sent forth from her wand and into the circle.

It all seemed that everything was going according to plan but as usual, Louise never ceased to amaze anyone. As the expected result once again occurred, a large explosion of fire and dust erupted into the area. It was soon dispersed however as Colbert was able to quickly react and disperse the dust and fire with a bit of wind magic so as none of the students would be damaged too badly. It was there in the middle of the summoning circle that the most unlikely of things had shown. It was a boy. A human boy had appeared where the Familiar should have been. He was roughly 5' 11" with a blue school uniform that covered his entire being. His shoes were regular black sneakers and in his right hand was a small rectangular object with an engraving at the bottom right of it. He was standing straight, eyes closed with his head sunken down slightly as if he was knocked out.

"I-Is that… A Plebian?" One of the students asked as he couldn't believe his eyes. "Haha! Wow I didn't think it could be done but Louise was able to actually do something that even we didn't expect!" He added as he started to bawl over laughing.

"Th-This has to be a mistake! There's no way this can be my Familiar!" Louise complained as she looked at the boy she had summoned up. "T-Teacher please let me resummon. This can't count, can it?!" Louise tried to appeal her case to the instructor as she knew this had to be some sort of joke.

"Oh no Miss Vallière. I know this may sound a little unfair but the rules are sacred. There is no way that this can be revoked. It's been known since long before you and I were born. Once you summon up a Familiar, no matter what the outcome, that is the one you are stuck with. He will be your Familiar as long as you and he are alive." He said as he crossed his arms. "Now, make the contract." He said, motioning her over to the boy who seemed to had woken up from all the commotion.

"_W-What… what's going on…?_" The boy asked as he looked around at the unfamiliar predicament he was in. "_Gah!_" He flinched as he noticed his glasses weren't on in place in front of his eyes. The lines of death pierced his skull as if he were getting hit repeatedly in the face with a small object. It wasn't something he could control rather; it was something he had to deal with for the rest of his life.

"B-But professor!" Louise protested.

"No buts… now, quit holding up the lesson and make the contract Miss Vallière." Colbert said, getting angry at her for her annoyance. Then again, he couldn't blame her. This was probably going to be her first kiss so it was to be expected that she wanted to keep it special for as long as possible. Regardless though, rules were rules.

"_Wh-What the hell is going on?_" he asked the nearest person to him. He didn't get a response though. Apparently wherever he was, they didn't speak Japanese. He wasn't sure if it was English they were speaking either since the dialect was different.

"Go on Louise. Be sure to give him a big one!" One of the students egged her on as she reluctantly yet surely kept stepping forward.

As she got closer and closer to the boy, her heart kept beating faster and faster. She felt her breath start to get sharper and shallower with each step and before she was only a few inches away from the boy, she couldn't help but notice that he was no older than her by a year maybe less.

"Y-Y-Y-You best be grateful for this… I, Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière hereby enter this contract with you." She said before placing her lips upon his, thoroughly confusing him as to what exactly just happened.

"_W-what the fuck are you doing?!_" He retracted away from her as she laid a big one on him. It wasn't long though until the contract effects took place and their engravings started to pierce into his skin. His heart was racing, his eyes were shaky and before he knew it, he was on the ground with one knee.

With an excruciatingly painful amount of energy coursing through him, the glowing sensation started to show itself on both of his hands. His strength in his legs finally gave out and he fell backwards into an unconscious state, clutching the object in his hand as if his life depended on it.


	2. A New Beginning

_Well, I'm actually quite surprised that this one chapter received so many views and only 1 review in such a short time when I am now deciding to write this. I don't know if I should be glad or if I should just be surprised at the fanbase… either way, I've decided to give this one a shot so hope you enjoy reading this as much as I will enjoy to write it._

"Zero" – Regular Speech

'Zero' – Thoughts

"_Zero"_ – Unknown Speech

"**Zero**" – Spell/Technique

It was a rather eventful day. Too much had happened at once for Louise to realize what had happened. Questions clouded her thoughts on what she should do. It was the first familiar she had ever summoned and at that it had to be a Plebian.

This was 1: Unheard of.

2: Outrageous.

And finally the most important of all, 3: EMBARRASSING!

"No no no no no no no no no!" Louise yelled to herself over and over again as she paced about the room. "Why… why why why did it have to be a Plebian of all things I summoned?! Is that even supposed to be legal?! Won't it be an offense to any of the other aristocratic nations that this boy belonged to?!" Louise thought, trying to think of a legitimate reason why she couldn't keep this familiar and would be forced to summon a new one.

"Yes. That has to be the right call. It's not like I wanted to summon him up and it's not like I want to cause this school any trouble so it should just be fine to just give him up and have him return to his original owners… right…?" She asked herself, expecting the answer to fall right out of the sky.

Continually pacing bout the room, back and forth in a swift motion as if she were playing the sport of NASCAR on her feet, Louise continued to think of a genuine, justifiable reason to solve her predicament. Sadly enough, she couldn't think of anything and continued to pout to herself as she slammed her fists against the warm and soft comfort of her bed that she soon would need to depart to so she could get ready for the next day. Before she got ready to turn in for the night, she took one last look at the boy who was still clenching tightly to his object that he came to this world with. He was in a sort of vulnerable position. It looked like he was in pain by the face he was making. It almost seemed like he was having a nightmare now that Louise could see his face more clearly.

'Who is this boy…?' She thought to herself as she reached out to touch his hand that was clenching the small object.

In a complete reaction to the presence that touched him, Shiki immediately sprung into action and reversed Louise's hand and brought his own to her throat in a brilliant display of agility and strength. With his eyes dead locked on hers he couldn't help but flick the knife out of its container that it was in and have it at the ready as if he was truly ready to slice her into a thousand pieces. Before he could continue any further, he regained his composure and got a grip of reality to slap himself in the face which subsequently dropped the frightened girl.

"_W-What… What the…?_" He mumbled to himself as he felt the pulsing of his blood start to throb on his temple. He could hear his heart racing. His mind was clear but his body was shaking. He was breathing heavily trying to regain his bearing before he fell down to one knee and latched his hand over one of his eyes to at least dull the pain. It was to no avail though, as long as he continued to see the pain wouldn't stop. He would either need to find his glasses again or he would have to keep them closed to save him from this torment.

Infuriated, now that she regained her poise and her sense of things, Louise rose from the floor with her wand in hand.

"H-How dare you do that to your master you Plebian!" She yelled at the boy who had no idea what she was saying.

"_Who… who the hell are you? What am I doing here?_" Shiki asked as he couldn't comprehend what the little girl in front of him was trying to tell him. From what he could see, she looked to be only 13 with her size as well as her tone of voice. She looked to be angry for some reason but he couldn't tell what. Was it that he pissed her off by choking her out of pure instinct? It was her fault after all.

"Explain yourself! Why did you assault me? Why did you attack a person of noble birth and furthermore why do you speak in a language that I don't understand?!" Louise demanded as she flicked her wand towards him in a threatening manner. "Tell me your name or suffer the consequences you impudent dog!"

'_Wow… she looks pissed…_' Shiki thought to himself as he was dumbstruck as per what to say. All he could ascertain out of that whole blurb of foreign text was something about her being angry… at least, maybe? '_Perhaps… I should try communicating via body language…?_' He thought for a second before trying to picture exactly what would happen if he tried to. "_Nope that's not going to work…_" He muttered aloud.

"What was that you damn Plebian?!" Louise yelled at the boy, clearly losing all self-control of her emotions.

"_Why the hell are you yelling at me?! I didn't do anything to you!_" Shiki retorted towards the little pink ball of anger who was in turn yelling back at him in a foreign language.

It was a rather comedic sight. On one side you had a small 13-year-old-looking girl yelling at a 16-year-old-looking boy each with a language of their own to try and communicate to one another… needless to say, it wasn't working out. Before the conversation got any louder, Louise got sick and tired of trying to argue with the boy and just resorted to using magic to get her way. (Everyone knows where this is going, yes?)

With a quick flick of her wrist and a bit of murmuring under her breath, Louise tried her first "**Silence**" spell just so she could shut the boy up. And like all other spells, it blew up in her face as well as sending the boy flying backwards into the wall.

"Oww… my head…" Shiki said to himself as he felt a large lump start to form in the back of his cranium. "What the hell was that…?" He asked himself aloud, trying to make sense of what he just witnessed.

"Aw, you've got to be kidding me, the spell didn't work? He's still talking!" Louise groaned to herself as she tacked on another 'failure' in her mental tack box.

"What do you mean spell?" Shiki asked as it soon occurred to him that he could now understand the girl. "W-wait a minute… I can understand you now?" He asked rhetorically.

"Hm… how strange…" Louise said as she looked at him inquisitively. "The **Silence** spell changed to a permanent translation-type spell…" Louise pondered to herself as she tried to ascertain how this was possible. "I said all the incantations right though… how is it I can't even get this down right…?" She muttered to herself, pacing back and forth like she had been for the past 45 minutes.

"U-Um… excuse me but… where am I?" Shiki asked, completely unaware of the situation he was plunged into.

"Oh, that's right… you just started understanding our language so you have no idea what's going on." Louise commented as she turned to face the bewildered boy. "You, are my familiar." She stated matter-of-factly.

"W-wait a minute… could you run that by me one more time?" Shiki asked again, hoping he heard her wrong. He knew what the word familiar meant. It was a type of summoned creature that was brought into the world of their master to do their bidding. They were a form of magical beings committed to servitude to their master.

"You're my familiar. I am Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, you however, can call me Master." She said as she stood there with her arms crossed.

"Uh huh…" the boy nodded his head slowly, understanding every word she said. "Well then… Goodbye." He stated before walking out the door and sprinting his way down the stairwell, hoping to find a way out to save himself.

"W-Wait! Come back here you dog!" Louise barked at him as if she were calling for a pet. "Guiche! Help me catch him!" She yelled at her fellow classmate who had been flirting with a girl in the hallway as Shiki ran past him.

"Louise…? Wait a minute, wasn't that your familiar?" Her classmate asked, confused as per what the situation was.

"Tell me something I don't know you dumbass! He's getting away, help me catch him!" She poked at him to help her.

"Wait a minute, you saying he's escaping? Wow… somehow I kind of expected this from you… however, as you are a damsel in distress, I will assist you in this matter." Guiche prided himself in his chivalry for the feminine gender as he felt obligated from then on to assist her.

"Come on! We've got no time to lose!" She pushed him out into the courtyard after her rouge familiar who was just now running towards the gate.

"Hmph… he's only that far away huh? A simple levitation spell should work here." He noted to himself aloud as he readied the spell.

"_Etre, Terra, Gravitas… _**Levitrae!" **Guiche casted as he flicked his wand towards the running boy and impacted him with the spell.

"Wh-What the hell?!" Shiki yelled as he soon found himself suspended in mid-air with no control over his gravitational force to the ground. "P-Put me down damnit!" He yelled at the person responsible, whoever it was.

"You know, you owe me twice now Lousie. I first had to do this to get him up to your room… now I'm having to do this again to keep him here at the Academy." Guiche tacked off the times he's had to help out his classmate, thinking it would be worth to have Louise 'owe him one'.

"Yes yes… thank you Guiche… you helped me out quite a bit today."

"Not a problem. Just be sure to keep an eye on him. Where would you want me to put him?" He asked, floating the boy back towards them.

"Place him on the ground in front of us. He shouldn't be able to move as long as you have the levitation spell on him right?" She asked, hoping to not have to repeat the same situation again.

"That is correct… he should be stationary as long as I hold this magic trail around him." He explained as he plopped the boy down onto the ground with a sudden thud.

Walking up to her familiar with her wand in hand, Louise was furious. She had never heard of a familiar escaping from the will of their master. Then again, it's not every day a Plebian is summoned up as a familiar so it shouldn't have made sense for the usual rules to be in effect. However, this was Louise we're talking about… so no form of reason would reach her ears when she was this pissed off.

"How dare you run away from me, your master!" she yelled at the boy who was still trying to figure out how he couldn't move. "What is your name?! I'm tired of calling you 'familiar' and you should be grateful that you have the honor of serving me." She said, trying to remain as calm as possible, now that she had everything under her thumb.

"My name… is Shiki Tohno." He answered, still fidgeting with all his might to get out of the binds that were placed on him through unknown means.

As he continued to struggle there against his will, he couldn't help but start to notice the lines of death start to overlap each other in the air. As he discerned it closer and closer he noticed that it kept flowing down until it went into his body.

'What the hell is that?' He thought to himself as the effects of using his eyes soon took their toll. He felt the pounding sensation of his headache start to pierce into his skull. His vision was starting to fail him and continued use would only make things worse.

"H-Hey… you listening?" Louise asked the boy as she noticed he was no longer concerned with what she was saying.

"M-My eyes… they hurt…" He replied as he winced at the pain. As he closed his eyes and started to calm himself, he looked in the direction of the girl and stared at her… even if he wasn't looking at her he knew that he had her attention. 'I guess that since I don't have a way to take care of this… these users of 'magic' might be able to help me.' He thought to himself as he stayed in his position that he was forced in.

"Alright… I'll stay here as your 'familiar'… but you have to help me with something." Shiki reasoned with the aristocrat as he looked towards the other presence and asked him to let him go.

Complying with the request, the blonde magician let his captive go and retreated back to the building where he hoped his damsel he had been swooing would still be. This left both Shiki and Louise alone in the courtyard, with a stifling silence enveloping them both.

"Before I help you… don't misunderstand me." Louise finally said after the long silence.

"What do you mean?" He replied a little confused at the request.

"It's the master's job to make sure her familiar is taken care of. That's the only reason I'm complying with your request. Do you understand me?" She said shaking slightly, for whatever reason, Shiki didn't know.

"Yes I understand." He responded.

"Good. Now, let's get out of this cold air. I'm going to catch a cold at this rate." She said as she strutted away towards the doorway of the dormitories. "I'll ask Colbert-sensei to help you with your problem tomorrow. If it's anyone who knows about illnesses or solutions to fix things, it'll be him." She reasoned as she waited for him to follow her to the room.

As they both departed for the night, Shiki couldn't help but feel the watchful eyes of someone's gaze upon him as he looked up towards the sky with his eyes now open. As it turned out, the Eyes of Death Perception didn't hurt him when he looked up at the sky. Maybe it was because his vision only went so far that he couldn't see the lines. Either way, his gaze fell upon two moons. One was blue while the other had a slight tint of red… or maybe purple, now that he looked at it more closely. This was going to be his world for as long as he was stuck here. He might as well get used to it now then fight about it later. Turning in for the night, a slight whisper of a few words caught his ears which put him on edge.

"…finally found you…" The voice muttered in the wind as it soon vanished from existence.

Abruptly turning around one last time, Shiki made out the image of a silhouetted object in the distance. It quickly vanished from sight but he knew it was there.

'Something's bound to happen here soon…' He thought before walking backwards until he got to the doorway. 'Oh well… nothing I can do about it until it shows itself…' he told himself as he followed the girl back into the dormitory for the night.


	3. The Shadow in the Dark

_A new world… a new beginning. A new life to start over from scratch. What will become of Shiki as he adjusts to his new life as a 'Familiar' in a world full of magic?_

"Zero" – Regular Speech

'Zero' – Thoughts

"_Zero"_ – Unknown Speech

"**Zero**" – Spell/Technique

Shiki didn't sleep well that night. It wasn't that he wasn't tired or that his eyes were bothering him since he didn't have the protective lens… it was because of those red beady eyes that he saw that night that put him on edge. He knew that he saw something but it ducked out of sight before he could confront it. Then again, it's not like he could've done anything about it since this world was so foreign to him.

He didn't know how effective his Eyes of Death Perception would aid him and he wasn't too inclined in using them either since he didn't have his glasses to keep his power in check. He would need to moderate himself for the time being until he could find a suitable replacement. Thoughts on the subject brought his mind back to his sensei way back when, when he was just a boy at a hospital with an unknown disease.

He slowly started to recall the events that happened that day. He remembered how he wanted to show off his powers to the odd woman when he met her that day. He wanted to show her that he was unique… that he could do amazing things just like her with the stories she told about herself. She was an enigma to him and it was that day that he learned a valuable lesson about life and how to cherish it as if it were a fleeting moment in the world.

He delved further into his memory when he first met Arcueid on the street. He recalled how he slashed her into 17 different pieces and that somehow she magically appeared fine once again the next day. It was a scary scene when he found her on the sidewalk that day when walking to his school. He honestly thought he was going insane when he saw her on the railing, waiting for him the entire day. He learned all about vampires and the undead after that. He met Nrvnqsr Chaos one night and knew true fear. He figured out that he was just a replacement in the household family when the real SHIKI Tohno went insane and nearly killed him.

He recalled all of it. Everything from erasing his existence to recalling it all once again. He remembered his sister Akiha and the demon blood that ran through her veins… then again, she really wasn't her real sister… was she? No she was acting as his sister, hiding his truth from him to protect him. It didn't really matter much to him though, even when he found out he still forgave her and lived in that mansion peacefully… at least as peacefully as you could with five different females, each with their own quirks and talents trying to get into your pants. Regardless, all of that was behind him now. He knew from that point on that he would never be able to get back… he finally recalled his final day in his world when the portal appeared before him.

It was just an ordinary day. Any day could've done if you picture it but for some reason that day felt to be more genuine. Shiki had just finished taking care of some business with Acrueid and he was headed home for the day. He had made plans with his sister and his two maids to have dinner all together since they didn't have time to last week. Using this as his excuse, he quickly made his way home… it came to an abrupt end though when he turned the corner and rammed himself straight into the green, swirling portal which sucked him into this world that he was in now.

The deed was done and there was nothing that could be changed to prevent this from happening but for some reason he still felt that he could have avoided all of this if he wasn't rushing back. It seemed so stupid of him to just fall into a trap that easily. He wasn't the kind of person to be caught off guard like that and something so simple should have been avoided.

Curiosity soon turned to confusion which soon turned into anger which eventually went into rage. He was pissed at himself. He was truly angry with himself and his mistake which cost him everything in the other world. He wanted to spend more time with his family, regardless if they were his real family or not. He wanted to live in that mansion, in that town, with all of his friends and all of his memories.

Finally fully committed to his tantrum and noticing that he was clearly not going to sleep any time soon, Shiki finally rose from his hay bed and went to the windowsill. He stared out at the twin moons and let the fresh air brush up against his skin. It calmed his nerves for a bit and being able to stare out at the vast space without worrying about the lines piercing his skull made it all the better.

He stood there for a few more moments before a shifting in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He wasn't sure at first what it was but when he gained eye contact with the form below he noticed two familiar orbs right next to one another.

They were both red.

Feeling his blood start to pump through his veins, Shiki quickly took flight down the spiraling stairs and exited into the courtyard where he looked once again for his target. He looked haphazardly for a few seconds before finally noticing them again at the far end of the courtyard in the shadows. With his dagger in hand and his eyes pointed towards his target like daggers, he slowly approached the enigma with cautious steps. Each step he took he felt his heartbeat get a little faster. With each rustle of leaves against his feet he could hear the thumping of his vital organ against his ears and with each breath of exhilaration he took, he could start to make out the image in the shadows.

"Who are you?" Shiki finally said, as he stopped 30 feet away from the presumed enemy.

He didn't receive a response. In fact, he was starting to wonder if it could even respond back to him. He asked it once again to identify himself but once again he received nothing. With his dagger in hand and a few moments to think, Shiki stood his ground to figure out what he should do next. He hadn't felt this type of pressure since he fought Nrvnqsr. Actually, now that he thought about it he started to wonder if creatures like that existed in this other world.

With an unearthly chill running down his spine he asked the creature one final time to tell him who… or what… he was.

"Who… are you?" Shiki addressed the thing as it finally took a response.

The red orbs quickly dropped to the ground and slowly started to approach from the shadows as it took on the form of a wolf. It wasn't that the wolf was hiding or that it was standing on its two hind legs to look taller… no, this wolf literally started to form as it protruded from the darkness. This was exactly like the fight with Nrvnqsr which gave Shiki a striking fear like none that he had felt since he fought the vampire that day. Shaking slightly, quickening his breath and eyeing the shadow wolf before him, Shiki noticed something. This wolf had no lines of death on it. This wolf had no points on its body, at least that he could see, that symbolized the area of absolute death that he used to kill so many before it.

'W-what the hell are you…?' He thought to himself as he reacted to the initial lunge of the wolf by rolling to the side.

He lost sight of his target when he looked up once again to notice it was gone. He then went into a defensive stance and resorted to his next core sense to locate his target. The bristling leaves in the wind made it hard to detect where the enemy was however, before the wolf struck out again Shiki parried the attack and watched as the wolf collided into the ground due to it being pushed off balance.

Using this opportunity to his advantage, Shiki once again searched harder for any lines of death that should have appeared on anything that he could understand. It was obvious that this was no ordinary wolf but it still should've had an origin of being in which he could sever to erase it from existence. Using this as his base of understanding, Shiki once again scanned his enemy as he narrowly avoided a strike to his neck. It was then that he caught a small glimpse of it. It was just a flicker but he knew that he saw it. He saw the lines of death that outlined his target.

Jumping back and sliding against the grassy terrain, Shiki held up his knife in a reverse grip and brought it to his side. He waited, baiting his target in hopes of it leaping at him once again so he could finish the beast off in a quick riposte. As he had anticipated, the wolf did exactly what he wanted.

Lunging at its target with razor sharp fangs that could tear through steel, the shadow wolf leapt at the boy only to noticed that it had fallen into the trap. Before it could do anything to react, the trap was sprung and he was cut along his neck and sliced down his side, completely tearing him apart as if he were a stick of butter. With a howling sound leaving his corpse, the wolf disintegrated into nothingness as the bindings it had to this world were severed… in a matter of seconds, the shadow wolf was gone and Shiki was left alone in the darkness of the night.

It didn't end there though, Shiki knew that there was someone else out there. Someone else had been watching from the sidelines and within a matter of seconds the person showed their presence when they started to clap.

"Well done… Well done there boy." A male's voice said as he came out from the shadows. "I didn't expect that my wolf would have been found so easily but I guess nothing can get past those eyes of yours…" He stated as he took a keen eye to the boys irises.

"Those aren't normal eyes… that much is certain but what intrigues me even more are the runes upon your hands…" He said blatantly as he was truly intrigued at the person before him.

The man stood a tall 6'3". He had a semi-muscular build which suggested that he used a sword since he held a sheath at his side but with no blade in it. His face was obscured from view since he had a masquerade mask over the top portion of his face, leaving only his lips and jaw line in view. His hair had also been hidden as he wore a cloak over his head which concealed him even further. He wore a loose black blouse with a white shirt underneath with leather strapping connecting together the upper portions of the blouse. His trousers, which were a dark navy blue in color, were also loose and were held up by three separate belts that were all made of leather. Two of them were brown, one of them was black. His boots were also made of a leather-like material and to top off his attire he adorned a gold rosary with a red ruby in the middle where the cross intersected.

"Who the hell are you?" Shiki retorted with a glare as he looked to see the lines of death start to appear on the man's body like a jigsaw puzzle. 'Good… so he's human.' Shiki thought to himself, which put him at ease a little.

"Ah… I guess I have been a little rude in my introduction haven't I?" The masked man replied with a smile. "However, I must decline handing out my true name as it would complicate things as they are now… For now though, please refer to me as 'Shadow' for now." He stated with a smirk as the name had a certain ring with it that fitted him nicely.

"What is it that you want? There's no reason for you to be here at this time of night." Shiki accused the man of trespassing as he readied his blade in hand.

Shiki couldn't hold this stalling for much longer. His eyesight was already starting to bother him and the pulsing sensation in his cranium was starting to irritate his senses. Reaffirming his position he took a deep breath and steadied himself so as to not be affected by the persistent use of his eyes.

"Ah… well you are correct I am trespassing at the moment… but I assure you I have my reasons." He replied cryptically with the same redundant smile. "However it is about time I take my leave for the night… Please be sure to get some sleep, it's going to be a long day tomorrow." 'Shadow' said as he turned around to depart.

"Wait! I still have questions!" Shiki yelled at him.

"They'll have to be until next time… have a good night, Shiki Tohno." The masked man said before flicking his fingers and disappearing into the shadows like the wolf before him once did.

Standing alone in the middle of the courtyard, Shiki finally realized that the man had escaped. He wasn't sure if he was angry or relieved that he left but he was sure that things were bound to get interesting the following day. With a deep sigh he closed his eyes so he could be saved, if only a little, from the pain of his eyesight as he started to make his way back to the room. He wouldn't sleep well this night. He knew that from the start but maybe things would be better, god willing, if he could fix the problem with his eyes in the morning.

Opening the door to the room and slumping into the corner to rest against the wall, Shiki found that he was more tired than he thought and rested, if only for a little, until daybreak.

**And there's chapter 3. Sorry for the wait, couldn't find enough motivation or inspiration to write this until just recently so thanks for understanding.**

**As to answer a couple of reviews and PMs which have been less than kind, I wanted to say that Shiki isn't weaker or stronger than he was when I saw him in the anime or in the games of Tsukihime. I wanted to at least make this fanfiction so it made sense. I remember one review said that he should've been able to cut the spell apart and that he was weak for not being able to. In my own opinion, if Shiki had never seen magic before and could only start to see the lines in the strands of magic that he wouldn't just instantly cut it and know what the outcome would be.**

**Either way, I'm going to keep on experimenting with ideas that I have received for this fanfic and I will also be allowing OC's into the story since I really don't like the storyline for Zero no Tsukaima that much… Either way, whether you like it, dislike it, or just want to talk about it, feel free to leave a review as it will help me shape this in a way that I want it to. Thanks for the support thus far, see you again next chapter.**


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